mid-15c., "walk unsteadily, reel" (intransitive), altered from stakeren (early 14c.), from a Scandinavian source (compare Old Danish stagra, Old Norse stakra "to push, shove, cause to reel," also "to stumble, stagger," perhaps literally "hit with a stick," from Proto-Germanic *stakon- "a stake," from PIE *steg- (1) "pole, stick." Cognate with Dutch staggelen "to stagger," German staggeln "to stammer." Transitive sense of "bewilder, amaze" first recorded 1550s; that of "arrange in a zig-zag pattern" is from 1856. Related: Staggered; staggering.
例文
1. Truman allowed him to stagger on for nearly another two years.
トルーマンは2年近くも無理をしていたことを許した。
2.Our management has decided to stagger our working hour.
私たちの経営陣は、作業時間をずらすことにしました。
3.The unexpected blow did not stagger his resolution.
この意外な打撃は彼の決心を揺るがすものではなかった。
4. Stagger and stumble suggest unsteady or uncontrolledmovement.
stagger とstumbleは、いずれも不安定な、または身に覚えのない動作を意味します。
5.We can 't hold the two meetings at the same time ; we must stagger them.